In God We Trust?

Do you trust God—really? The truth is, a lot of people might say yes, but they don’t act like it. And worse, because they don’t trust Him, they might actually steal from Him! “Come on!” you say, “No one would steal from God.” But God’s shocking message to His people is, “You have robbed Me!” (Malachi 3:8). Real records prove that billions of people steal from God, and as amazing as it may seem, they use that stolen money to subsidize their own reckless spending! Yet many are unaware of their larceny, and in this Study Guide, we’ll show you how to avoid that same mistake and how to prosper through real faith in God.

“I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance” (Numbers 18:21).

Answer: The tithe is one-tenth of a person’s income. The word “tithe” literally means “tenth.” The tithe belongs to God. It is His. We have no right to keep it. When we tithe, we are not making a gift; we are simply returning to God what is already His. Unless we are returning one-tenth of our income to God, we are not tithing.

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse” (Malachi 3:10).

Answer: He asks us to bring the tithe into His storehouse.

“And he [Abram] gave him a tithe of all” (Genesis 14:20). And in Genesis 28:22, Jacob said, “Of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”

Answer: These passages reveal that both Abraham and Jacob, who lived long before Moses’ day, tithed their income. We can therefore conclude that God’s plan of tithing is not limited to Moses’ law and applies to all people of all times.

“I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting” (Numbers 18:21).

Answer: The tithe in Old Testament days was used for the income of the priests. The tribe of Levi (the priests) received no portion of land for crop growing and business operations, while the other 11 tribes did. The Levites worked full time taking care of the temple and ministering to God’s people. So God’s plan was for tithes to support the priests and their families.

“Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:13, 14).

Answer: No. He continued it, and today His plan is for the tithe to be used to support those who work solely in gospel ministry. If everyone tithed and the tithe were used strictly for the support of gospel workers, there would be more than enough money to reach the entire world very quickly with God’s end-time gospel message.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone” (Matthew 23:23).

Answer: No. On the contrary, Jesus endorsed it. He was rebuking the Jews for omitting the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, faith—even though they were meticulous tithers. He then plainly told them they should continue tithing but should also be just and merciful and faithful.

“Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he [Jesus] receives them” (Hebrews 7:8).

Answer: Jesus, our heavenly High Priest, receives our tithes.

Answer: They took things that God said were not theirs. God gave Adam and Eve the fruit of all the trees in the Garden of Eden, except one—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16, 17). The fruit of that tree was not theirs to eat. But they did not trust God. They ate the fruit and fell—and the long, horrendous, wrenching world of sin began. To people today, God gives His riches, wisdom, and all of the other blessings of heaven. All God asks is for a tenth of our income (Leviticus 27:30), and as with Adam and Eve, He does not take it by force. He leaves it within our reach but says, “Don’t take that. It is holy. It is Mine.” When we knowingly take God’s tithe and appropriate it for our own use, we repeat the sin of Adam and Eve and, thus, display a tragic lack of trust in our Redeemer. God does not need our money, but He deserves our loyalty and trust.

Make God Your Partner
When you return God’s tithe, you make Him a partner in everything you undertake. What a fantastic, blessed privilege: God and you—partners! With Him as a partner, you have everything to gain and nothing to lose. However, it is a dangerous venture to take God’s own money, which He has earmarked for the saving of souls, and use it for our own personal budgets.

“Bring an offering, and come into His courts” (Psalm 96:8).

Answer: The Lord asks us to give offerings for His work as an expression of our love for Him and of our thanksgiving for His blessings.

Answer: A. Our first priority should be to give ourselves to the Lord (2 Corinthians 8:5).

B. We should give God our very best (Proverbs 3:9).

C. God blesses the generous giver (Proverbs 11:24, 25).

D. It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).

E. When stingy, we are not rightly using our God-given blessings (Luke 12:16–21).

F. God returns more than we give (Luke 6:38).

G. We should give in proportion to how God has prospered and blessed us (1 Corinthians 16:2).

H. We should give as we are able (Deuteronomy 16:17).

We return tithe to God, to whom it already belongs. We also give offerings, which are voluntary and should be given joyously..

“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings” (Malachi 3:8).

Answer: He refers to them as robbers. Can you imagine people stealing from God?

“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:34).

Answer: Because our hearts follow our investments. If our focus is on accumulating more and more money, our hearts become covetous, discontent, and proud. But if our focus is on sharing, helping others, and God’s work, then our hearts become caring, loving, giving, and humble. Covetousness is one of the terrible sins of the last days that will shut people out of heaven (2 Timothy 3:1–7).

Answer: The apostle Paul had written the churches in Macedonia asking them to lay aside funds for God’s people in Jerusalem, who were suffering through an extended famine. He told them he would pick up these gifts when he came to their cities on his next visit. The thrilling response from the churches in Macedonia, described in 2 Corinthians chapter 8, is heartening:

A. Verse 5—As a first step, they rededicated their lives to Jesus Christ.

B. Verses 2, 3—Though in “deep poverty” themselves, they gave “beyond their ability” to give.

C. Verse 4—They urged Paul to come and pick up their gifts.

D. Verse 9—Their gifts followed the sacrificial example of Jesus.

Note: If we truly love Jesus, giving sacrificially for His work will never be a burden but a glorious privilege that we will perform with great joy.

Consider the Following Ways God Blesses:

A. God promises that your nine-tenths will go further with His blessing than your total income would go without it. If you doubt this, ask any faithful tither!

B. Blessings are not always financial. They may include health, peace of mind, answered prayers, protection, a close-knit and loving family, added physical strength, ability to make wise decisions, a spirit of thankfulness, a closer relationship with Jesus, success in soul-winning, an old car kept running longer, etc.

C. He becomes your partner in everything. No one except God could ever structure a plan so utterly fantastic.

Answer: